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| Klingon Empire | |
| Basic information | |
| Major Species: | |
| Homeworld(s): | |
| Founded: |
900 AD |
| Warp Capable: |
930 AD |
| Official Language: |
tlhIngan Hol (Klingon) |
| Official Currency: |
Darsek |
| Political Information | |
| Government: |
Feudal Monarchy |
| Leader: |
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| Military Branches: | |
The Klingon Empire (sometimes referred to as the Imperial Klingon Empire) was founded by Kahless the Unforgettable over 1500 years ago when he unified a number of Klingon Warlords in order to overthrow the dictator Molor who ruled Qo'noS through fear and terror. The climatic battle taking place in the Great Hall of the city of Quam-Chee where Kahless used a newly forged weapon, the Bat'leth, to slay the tyrant. The Empire serves as the official political state of the Klingon people and has endured ever since through the deeds of many great warriors and diplomats, although in recent times the efforts of the warriors have carried a far greater weight than those of other sections of society.
Occupying a large portion of the Beta Quadrant the Klingon Empire borders the United Federation of Planets, Romulan Star Empire and Gorn Hegemony although little is known of its eastern border facing the Beta Quadrant. There have been numerous border disputes between the Empire and the other galactic powers over the last two centuries, not least surrounding the systems of Khitomer, Narendra and Klach d'kel Brakt. In that time the Klingon Empire has entered into a number of alliances with both the Romulan Star Empire and the Federation although both were still considered enemies of the Empire until the latter half of the 24th Century, especially in the light of the events of the Dominion War.
Social Structure
The defining aspect for the Klingon people is that of the status of their family or house, whether they be a ruling member of the Empire or a simple labourer. Klingon houses as usually made up of members of the extended family, whether they be aunts and uncles or nieces and nephews, many of whom may be warriors forming a standing army. Smaller houses or individual families may be also inducted into a larger house through marriage or oaths to further strengthen their overall position within the Empire by pooling warriors and ships.
Traditionally each house must be led by a male although a female may lead in the absence of a suitable male of adult age, this may be due to deaths or discommendation, again this old tradition has softened in recent times with a number of exceptions leading many warriors to gladly following their mistresses into battle.
Political Structure
The modern day Empire is ruled over by the Chancellor and the twenty four members of the High Council, the leaders of the most powerful houses of the Empire, a tradition that has endured since the last Emperor ruled more than three centuries ago. Each member of the High Council also holds a political office, whether it be defence, intelligence, diplomatic relations and many more besides, thus the Chancellor can assemble loyal followers and put each of them in a power of position.
In 2369 a clone of the Kahless was created by the monks of Boreth who has been installed as Emperor, however the position holds no real power and is instead a figurehead for the Klingon people used to exalt the people of the Empire in times of war. The new Kahless was initially seen as a puppet of the Chancellor although this later changed after the death of Chancellor Gowron in 2375 and he is now seen as the conscience of the people.
Beliefs
Like many other advanced cultures Klingons do not believe in a higher power or in any religion, instead their daily lives are governed by a system of honour, to ones self, their family and the Empire itself. In this way all Klingons are connected through a common set of beliefs first defined by Kahless centuries ago.
In Klingon history however the people of Qo'nos did have deities which were slain, the exact details of which are unknown but it has been postulated that the belief system surrounding them was outdated. This may mean the Gods were not physically slain by a the people themselves but that the system of worship was destroyed effectively muting their effect on the Klingon populace, only later taking the form of physical battle.
The Klingons do however believe in an afterlife,Sto'Vo'Kor, the Great Halls of the dead where those who have died an honourable death may rest for all eternity. Conversely those who die without honour however are taken to the Klingon underworld, Gre'thor, although a distinction between a dishonourable life and death is a fine line, as those who lived with honour may still be permitted access to Sto'Vo'Kor through the deeds of others.
History
The Time of Kahless (circa 900-950 AD)
The story of the Klingon Empire starts with the formation of a unified force under the command of Kahless the Unforgettable, the greatest warrior and general the Empire has ever known. Not only did Kahless slay the tyrant Molor but he led the combined forces of the old warlords against the Fek'lhri, an ancient enemy of the Klingons who occupied many parts of Qo'noS, he was also a philosopher who regarded knowledge as an important tool in crafting the First Empire as was the code of honour. With his work done Kahless left Qo'noS and pointed to a distant star, Boreth, leaving behind not only the Sword of Kahless but a prophecy that he would one day return.
The Hur'q Invasion (circa 1350 AD)
During the time of the Emperor's came the Empire's darkest hour, an alien race from the distant Gamma Quadrant called the Hur'q, a name that would later come to mean "outsider" in the Klingon language, plundered the resources of Qo'noS while stealing many artefacts including the legendary Sword of Kahless and the Shroud of the Sword.
The New Era (2151-2293 AD)
The Empire had never been an advocate of peaceful exploration, instead it became focused on gathering resources while entering into battle against those that would stand before them. This policy had worked for centuries, and to a lesser extent is how the Empire deals with a number of smaller powers to this day, but when first contact was made in 2151 with the United Earth Starfleet vessel Enterprise, in them they encountered a species who was not afraid to stand up to the Empire much to the annoyance of their Vulcan allies who for centuries had minimal contact with the Empire.
Although no formal peace was to be signed with the Federation until 2293 with the Khitomer Accords, open warfare was relatively rare, with Klingon vessels more often than not using a show of strength to force Federation forces to withdraw from an area or stop exploration by Starfleet, this tactic often met with mixed results as a number of particularly bold Starfleet Captains decided to fight although these skirmishes were often far from conclusive.
During the 23rd Century two major incidents almost led to open warfare between the Klingon Empire and the Federation, the first came in 2267 during a short lived alliance with the Romulans as the combined forces of the two great powers led them to become increasing bold in the forays into Federation territory. The second incident of note was during the Genesis incident, when after a failed attempt to obtain the Genesis Device the Klingon Ambassador portrayed the entire incident as a Federation plan to wipe out the Empire however the actions of a number of Starfleet officers proved this theory to be incorrect.
Around 2268, the Klingons entered into a brief alliance with the Romulan Star Empire, when an agreement between the two powers resulted in the sharing of military technology and spacecraft designs, providing the Romulans with Klingon battle cruisers. By the mid 2280's, Klingons were using ships described as birds-of-prey (traditionally a Romulan term) that were equipped with cloaking devices. Utilizing photon distortion fields to bend light around the vessel to render it visually undetectable, and a cloak of particle scattering fields, the effect creates a impenetrable camouflage so a vessel cannot be picked up by traditional EM sensor sweeps. This alliance was more of a friendship of convenience, and when both side got what they wanted, the alliance was dissolved in 2292. The terms on which the two sides parted remains unclear, but they would become bitter foes for the next 75 years.
In 2293, a catastrophic explosion on Praxis, one of the moons of Qo'noS, caused serious environmental damage to the Klingon homeworld. In the economic disarray that followed, Chancellor Gorkon found that his Empire could no longer afford its massive military forces. He therefore launched a peace initiative, offering to end 70 years of hostilities with the Federation. Just prior to a major peace conference, Gorkon was assassinated by Federation and Klingon interests who sought to maintain the status quo.
Bilateral talks between the Klingons and the Federation continued through 2289, taking place at the Korvat colony. Even though the meetings did not result in any breakthroughs, some small progress was made when Federation negotiator Curzon Dax earned the respect of his Klingon colleagues. However, encounters with the Federation remained unpleasant at best, when the Klingon Empire launched a covert operation to poison emergency quadrotriticale supplies crucial to Sherman's Planet. The K-7 plant that was storing the hybrid wheat sent a distress call answered by the Enterprise. With the help of numerous Tribbles, the Klingon sabotage was revealed and terminated. Klingon hatred for the furry and enormously prolific creatures was immediate after their first contact. The Klingons considered Tribbles to be an ecological menace, a plague to be wiped out. In the latter part of the 23rd century, hundreds of Klingon warriors were sent to track them down throughout the galaxy. An armada obliterated the Tribble homeworld, and before the 24th century, Tribbles had been eradicated.
The peace conference was then moved to Khitomer, a planet near the border of Romulan space. Gorkon's successor, his daughter Azetbur, took over the role of Chancellor and continued her father's work and opened the conference which lead to the landmark Khitomer Accords. The Khitomer Conference of 2293 would later be seen as the single most important peace treaty in Federation history, ending the period of open hostility between the two major powers of the Alpha Quadrant and beginning an era of cooperation and joint ventures. However, it was only after Spock forced the truth out of his traitorous protege Valeris, that the starships Enterprise and the Excelsior prevented another assassination attempt -- this time on the Federation President -- from succeeding. After exposing the villains within each party, the talks continued and an era of peace resulted.
The Empire Reborn (2294-2366)
After the signing of the Khitomer Accords the foremost concern of the High Council was to save Qo'noS at all costs, major reductions in the military were met with shock and disbelief whilst changes to many social policies increased the emphasis on families supporting each other allowed the necessary reductions. In the decades that followed the Romulans entered a self imposed exile, the Federation sent forth an unprecedented number of exploratory missions and many of the smaller powers squabbled amongst themselves allowing the Chancellor to slowly rebuild the strength of the Imperial Fleet
During the mid-2340's the Romulans began to test a number of their new ships and weapons in skirmishes with the Empire the most notable incident being the attack on Narendra III in 2344, an outpost with poor defences and little fleet support in the vicinity. The incident would result in the loss of a single Federation starship, the Enterprise-C the only ship to arrive in time to support the outpost, it was to be a watershed moment for a distrustful Klingon people who came to view the act as that of a friend and ally, cementing the relationship between the two powers much to the chagrin of the Romulans. The other major incident was an attack that brought the Klingons to the brink of full scale when the historic outpost of Khitomer was all but annihilated in 2346. Only the efforts of Ja'rod of the Duras family averted open conflict although it would take over two decades for the truth of the Duras' betrayal to become known.
By the early 2360's the Klingon Defence Force and Starfleet began to engage in joint exercises and officer exchange programs. These activities would serve both well as a common understanding for tactics, capabilities and perhaps more interesting the social idiosyncrasies of each others culture was to be developed, this understanding was to be tested when a single Borg Cube entered Federation space late in 2366 and while the battle was lost the willingness of the Empire to support the Federation in a time of need only served to strengthen the alliance between the two powers.
Civil War (2367-2368)
The High Council was a hotbed of political intrigue that nearly plunged the Empire into civil war in 2367, when Chancellor K'mpec died of poison. Such a death and the dishonor of the murder had been foreseen by K'mpec, who knew very well it could plunge the Empire into civil war. To counter such a disastrous possibility, K'mpec took the precaution of having appointed an Arbiter of Succession. However, he broke convention by choosing Federation Captain Jean-Luc Picard as mediator in choosing the next head of the Klingon Empire. It came down to two candidates, Duras, partly responsible for the discommendation of Worf, and Gowron, a rising political figure. A web of intrigue and betrayal resulted in the death of Duras, son of Ja'rod. Worf actually wielded the knife that killed Duras and was reprimanded for his conduct afterwards. He had avenged the death of Emissary K'Ehleyr, who confronted Duras with his family secret of responsibility for the Khitomer betrayal before she was killed. With no other challenger, Gowron emerged as Council leader, leaving the Duras line extremely unsatisfied.
Forces loyal to the powerful House of Duras unsuccessfully attempted to block Gowron, plunging the Empire into a brief, but bitter civil war in early 2368. The Duras family tried to reinstate their power in the Klingon Empire by pulling their connections and attempted to put Toral, the son of Duras, into Council leader. Certain High Council members who were allies of the House of Duras, opted to side with them, and a deep rift in the Empire was formed. In the following civil war, the Duras family secretly utilized Romulan forces to aid their cause, promising a split with the Federation when they succeeded in deposing Gowron. Gowron issued a formal statement for assistance from the Federation, but dutifully observing the Prime Directive of non-interference, Starfleet declined to involve themselves in the war.
A conflict that could have ended in disaster for the Empire was averted when it was discovered that the Duras had colluded with Romulans, who had quietly supplied them with weapons and other resources. The Romulans wished the Duras to take control of the High Council, for that would truly see an end to the Federation/Klingon alliance, a combined superpower the Romulans have long wished to disassemble. But the coup failed as the supply source was ultimately cut off by a blockade of more than 20 Starfleet vessels utilizing a tachyon detection grid to scan for cloaked Romulan ships attempting to cross the border, for the Federation had duly recognised the Romulan/Duras connection.
When word got out, support for the House of Duras fell and Gowron was placed firmly into power. The war quieted with the escape of the Duras sisters, Lursa and B'Etor, and the Romulans returned home, foiled once again by the Enterprise-D's interference. Young Toral was spared from death by Worf, whose father Mogh was at last cleared of wrong-doing. Honor was restored to the House of Mogh.
Space marauders without hope of returning to Qo'noS anytime soon, Lursa and B'Etor made other attempts to gain power. Their exploits brought them to the Deep Space Nine where they sold bilitrium explosives to a Bajoran Kohn-ma terrorist who planned to use it to blow up the wormhole and drive away the Federation. The last time the Duras sisters were reportedly seen was when they associated with Dr. Soran, ferrying him to the Nexus while he provided them with trilithium weapons capable of mass destruction. The Enterprise-D interfered and destroyed the Bird-of-Prey, presumably killing the sisters in the process.
Gowron was then safely the undisputed Chancellor.
Shortly after the Civil War caused by a contested Rights of Succession in which Jean-luc Picard was Arbiter, many past dealings of House Duras was also linked to other prominent houses within the Klingon Empire. On review of the evidence it seemed wherever House Duras had acted dishonorably, House Si’Tac was also close in support. Due to crimes against the Empire and the rightful Chancellor, house Si’Tac was disgraced, though too powerful to fully dismantle. As a result, the High Council forced a name change on House Si’Tac, to that of House Targ “Dishonorable dogs.”
The Return of Kahless (2369-2371)
In 2369 the Monks of Boreth, on the planet that gives them their name, created a clone of Kahless from dried blood from the ancient dagger of Molor. They planned to bring the clone to the Empire as the returned Kahless. Worf, son of Mogh uncovered the plot.
Following intervention by Worf the clone of Kahless inherited the throne with the blessing of the Chancellor and High Council, taking the name Kahless II. The Emperor is little more than a figurehead and the true power remains with the High Council.
Invasion of Cardassia (2372)
In early 2372, concern over reported Founder infiltration into the Quadrant's political arena mounted, and certain Klingons were greatly disturbed by the overthrow of the Cardassian Central Command, something they interpreted as the work of the Founders. Voices shouting for war and glory pressured Gowron into action. He gave orders to invade Cardassia on the premise of rooting out the Founders Klingons believed had replaced the Cardassian Detapa Council. Fearing that the Cardassian government had been taken over by the Dominion, Gowron's forces, commanded by a changeling agent impersonating General Martok, invaded Cardassia Prime, intending to execute the Detapa Council and install an imperial overseer to rule. Although this Changeling Theory was later disproved by Starfleet, the Klingon Empire continued the attacks. The UFP, having signed a peace treaty with the Cardassians only some years ago, had no choice than to intervene against the Klingons.
Captain Sisko and Lt. Commander Worf got wind of the Klingons' intentions and warned against such a rash and unprovoked attack, one which could mean the dissolving of the long-standing Khitomer Accords with the Federation. Gowron disregarded the warning and proceeded with plans. General Martok led an armada in the attack on Cardassia, nearly wiping out the its infrastructure in the process. Despite Gowron's firm resolve to go to war with Cardassia, there were several Klingons within the Empire who did not support the invasion, not the least of whom was Emperor Kahless and Worf's brother Kurn, now a member of the High Council.
The Klingons did a great deal of damage after they penetrated Cardassian defense lines. The civilian council members were saved from certain death only by the unified efforts of Gul Dukat and Captain Sisko, who placed them in the relative safety of DS9. When demands to release the council members were not met, the Klingon fleet bombarded Deep Space Nine with heavy fire, resolved to force them out or destroy the station. Sisko had the foresight to reinforce the defensive and offensive capabilities of the station a year ago, and the station withstood everything the Klingon fleet could launch at it.
The attack on DS9 ended when Sisko made Gowron see that this turn of events was manipulated by the Founders, who turned allies into foes to weaken them for the Dominion invasion. By then, Klingons had already occupied several Cardassian worlds, and even as they engaged in peace talks with the Federation, they were engineering an eventual conflict by killing Bajoran and Cardassian nationals meeting for peace talks and by setting up Worf to make an unprovoked attack on a Klingon transport. At the end of 2371, talks between the Federation and Klingon Empire ended with mutual dissatisfaction. The Klingons were insulted by the incessant demands to retreat from Cardassian territory, and soon after the Khitomer Accords were officially annulled by Gowron, expelling all Federation citizens from the empire and recalling all Klingon ambassadors.
Soon after, a high ranking member of the Klingon military, General Martok, was discovered to be a changeling, and Dominion spy. The infiltrator was instantly killed on discovery, and without his damaging influence disrupting Alpha Quadrant affairs, stability between the Federation and Klingon Empire was ensured once more. One possibility is that the Martok influence may indeed have had something to do with the earlier concerns that the Cardassian government had been taken over by the Dominion, with him campaigning for war. One primary tactic the Dominion used was to turn the Alpha Quadrant powers against each other, fuelling internal rumour, distrust and suspicion.
Widespread scuffles and skirmishes ensued with Federation forces for a short while thereafter, but after an incident at Ajilon Prime a cease fire was established, and the alliance reformed.
The Dominion War (2372-2375)
Neither the Federation, Klingon Empire, Cardassia Union, nor the Romulans could summon a fleet to defend from the imminent Jem'Hadar invasion through the wormhole. Having taken everything in consideration, the Federation decided to use modified graviton emitters to seal the wormhole without damaging the Prophet inside. However, sabotage from another Changeling in disguise (this time as Doctor Bashir) prevented them from closing the wormhole, and the Jem'Hadar fleet poured through to the Alpha Quadrant.
However, this was nowhere as stunning as the announcement Gul Dukat that the Cardassian Union had joined the Dominion. Dukat was made the new head of the Union, and the Dominion soon removed all Klingon presence from their territory as well as summarily slaughtered all Maquis terrorists. Having tasted victory upon victory in so short a time, Dukat soon revealed his plans to reclaim Terok Nor for Cardassia.
The Klingon fleet, battered by Dominion ferocity, withdrew to the Bajoran system, where Captain Sisko persuaded the Empire to consider a resigning of the Khitomer Accords, arguing that the Dominion would be easier to fend off through a joint effort. So whereas suspicion of Dominion involvement initiated the string of events and severed Federation-Klingon ties, the confirmation of Dominion involvement in Cardassia would restore the peace accords and end the conflict.
The re-signing of the Khitomer Accords marked the beginning of close strategic cooperation on the part of the Federation and the Klingon Empire. Klingon fleets joined Federation vessels in protecting the Bajoran system from a possible Dominion invasion, and a Romulan fleet joined the defense line as they waited for the Jem'Hadar ships approaching fast ahead on their sensors -- only there was no Dominion fleet. A Changeling posing as Dr. Bashir tried to make the Bajoran sun go nova, but Major Kira and Lt. Dax uncovered the plot and destroyed the runabout Yantzee, which was ferrying the Changeling and his explosives, before he could succeed.
Later, when Worf and Garak were thrown into Internment Camp 371, the place where enemies of the Dominion were confined, they discovered the real General Martok and Doctor Bashir as well as Enabran Tain, who survived the disastrous joing Obsidian Order and Tal Shiar attack on the Founder homeworld a year earlier. After their safe return to the Alpha Quadrant, Martok was made commander of the Klingon forces stationed around DS9 as part of the new Khitomer Accords.
In the following months, more Dominion convoys were sent through the wormhole into Cardassian space. It was soon apparent that the Dominion was planning to take over the whole Quadrant when they had everything in place. Captain Sisko convinced Starfleet that the wormhole entrance must be mined to prevent more Jem'Hadar from entering the Alpha Quadrant. With the help of Klingon ships as cover, the self-replicating cloaked mines were successfully placed and activated just seconds before the Federation personnel were forced to abandon DS9.
The next three months inflicted terrible losses for the Federation. Whole fleets were destroyed and the war proved to be a very bloody affair for both sides. When news came through that the Dominion had almost dismantled the minefield and was ready to send through massive reinforcements, Captain Sisko knew they could wait no longer. He convinced the Federation to launch a risky strike, sending three fleets from Starbase 375 to Terok Nor in a gamble that could reclaim the station if successful.
Meanwhile, an armada of 2,800 Dominion ships queued up to enter the wormhole into the Alpha Quadrant. The Defiant broke through the Cardassian/Dominion line, but was obviously no match against the Jem'Hadar fleet. Right before the Defiant came into weapons range of the Jem'Hadar, the alien entities within the wormhole spoke to their Emissary "the Sisko" again, but with more urgency than before. Sisko made clear to them what the devastating result would be if such an enormous fleet were to reach the Alpha Quadrant. Not wishing their Emissary to die, and aware of the outcome should the Jem'Hadar ships reach the Alpha Quadrant, the Prophets decided to act, and made all 2,800 ships vanish without a trace.
Gul Dukat, who was with Weyoun and the Founder female in Terok Nor Ops, was already celebrating his glorious victory. When the reinforcements vanished without a trace from the sensors, and the Defiant alone emerged from the wormhole, he could not comprehend what had happened. Everything was lost, and more Federation ships were on their way. The Dominion had no choice but fall back to Cardassian space.
The Romulans, who had signed a nonaggression pact with the Dominion prior to this, was pulled into the war when they were "convinced" the Cardassians murdered Romulan Senator Vreenak. Thus, the Klingons found themselves fighting alongside the Federation and Romulans against a common enemy.
Among the first joint campaigns of the Klingon/Federation/Romulan forces was the taking of the Chin'Toka System. Targeted for its thin defenses, the fleet led by Sisko encountered resistance only in the orbital weapons platform deployed there. After destroying the main power source, the aystem came under Federation control. Dukat, who escaped from a Federation prison escort ship when it crashed in a remote planet, returned to Deep Space Nine to destroy the Orb of Prophesy and in the process unwittingly killed Jadzia Dax, who was praying in the Bajoran Temple at that time. The wormhole inverted and collapsed, sending the Bajorans into panic about the disappearance of their Celestial Temple. Three months later, Captain Sisko restored the wormhole by rediscovering the Orb of the Emissary on Bajor.
In 2375, the Klingons fought alongside the Federation and suffered the most damaging losses when the Breen used their energy dissipater weapon against power-hungry attack vessels the Federation, Klingon, and Romulans at the second battle of Chin'toka, and the System once again fell under Dominion control. Shortly after the attack, Chancellor Gowron came aboard DS9 to induct Martok into the Order of Kahless, the highest honor possible for any Klingon. But afterwards, Martok was relieved of his post as commander of the Klingon fleet, and Gowron repeatedly asked him to waste men and ships in suicide missions. Martok was too proud and too loyal to disobey the commands of Gowron, but eventually Worf came to see that Gowron had his own political motives for the waste of resources. He challenged Gowron's tactical decisions, and in the ensuing duel killed the man he helped install into Chancellorship. Worf refused the mantle of the Chancellor, instead throwing it over Martok, who reluctantly accepted his new role as Chancellor as well as regained his old role of Fleet Commander.
With a countermeasure against the Breen weapon developed by the Federation, the Dominion pulled back into a tight perimeter around Cardassia Prime, where they hoped they could rebuild while the Federation and the other enemies would cease pursuit and be content to return home. Chancellor Martok voted to strike the Dominion down once and for all, before they have time to rebuild, an opinion Sisko shared. The Romulans eventually went along with the Federation and Klingon Empire, and a full-out attack began.
Back on Cardassia, Damar, whose formal military resistance movement had been crushed by Weyoun, ignited a civilian rebellion that succeeded in taking out power on Cardassia Prime for the duration of the Federation/Klingon/Romulan attack on Dominion forces. With communication cut, Weyoun and the Female Founder could not contact their fleet, and the Founder was so incensed she ordered Lakarean City, 2 million in population, destroyed. She also ordered every house levelled in Cardassia if necessary until Damar and his rebels were found. The Jem'Hadar were about to kill the trio when the Cardassian soldiers that had come along with the Jem'Hadar killed the Dominion soldiers and pledged their loyalty to Damar.
Sisko, Martok, and Ross lead the attack, and they clearly were losing ground when the Cardassian ships suddenly turned to fire on the Dominion. Soon, it was the Dominion whose line was faltering rapidly under the firepower of all the hostile ships. It was only then that long-range communications returned to Weyoun and Founder. Knowledge that the entire Cardassian fleet had turned against the Dominion angered the Founder into declaring that all Cardassians untrustworthy. She immediately ordered the extermination of the entire population on Cardassia Prime and sent Jem'Hadar ships to level every inch of Cardassia Prime. The Breen general volunteered to fight in the front lines, leaving Weyoun and the Founder almost entirely alone on the planet surface.
The Founder, alone in the command center and a dead Weyoun lying at her feet while under Kira and Garak held her prisoner, would not call off her Jem'Hadar, content to let every last Dominion soldier die fighting. Odo convinced her to surrender and stand trial as a war criminal when he healed her disease and imprinted on her his experience of solids.
Post Dominion War (2376-2380's)
Due to the actions of Gowron, Worf, Son of Mogh challenged him to ritual combat. Killing Gowron Worf gained the right to rule, however, he chose instead to name Martok as Chancellor.
Martok brought the Klingon Empire closer to the UFP than it had ever been and the alliance appears to be holding strong. Worf was reassigned to become Federation Ambassador to Qo'noS. The new Chancellor and new Federation ambassador mark another turning point in the long history of the Empire. Having gone through the wages of war side by side, the Empire and the Federation will no doubt be allies, realizing the Organians' prophecy of lasting peace and friendship.
In 2379 a joint proposal from both the House' of Targ (Si'Tac) and Q'ras to build a new generation of battlestation throughout the Empire. Whilst not as advanced or as large as modernized Federation Spacestations this new design packed a decent amount of fire-power for an installation of its size. These battlestations where also home to prison facilities and a warriors combat arena. The Battlestations were to be placed above primary hunting worlds to further display a warriors honor.
The High Council readily agreed to the construction of these stations and both the Houses of Targ (Si'tac) and Q'ras headed the design and building process...a mistake the Klingon Empire would soon regret. the two houses embedded secret codes into each battle station allowing them to take full control of the stations at will...
The Sovereignty of Kahless (2388 - Present)
On March of 2388 the battlestations were completed within the following systems:
- Narendra System (Targ/Si'Tac HQ - Battle station Sut HabmoHwl'mupwl)
- Khitomer System
- Q'ras System
- HeH'bat System
- Vor'cha System
- Ty'Gokor System (Replacing the aging station in the system)
- Yacae
Along the northern reaches of the Klingon Border, 5 Starfleet vessels were attacked without provocation by Klingon warships on the 20th of November in 2388. The attacks were brutal and quick so not to allow much of any evidence left of how the engagements came to pass. At that same time, the formerly disgraced House of Targ officially announces it is claiming its old name of Si’Tac in open defiance of the Klingon High Council. A few days later Starfleet Command, due to lack of solid information, decides to keep the incident of the 20th under wraps until diplomatic and intelligence assets had a chance to gather more information and possibly broker a solution.
An old run down Klingon prison barge nearing its finals days as a prisoner transport vessel is heading through Klingon Empire with a load of prisoners en route to the Klingon prison on Rura Penthe.However, midway through their voyage, the barge is forced to make a brief stop at an old Klingon K-7style space station for assistance in repairing their faulty warp engines. The prisoners had made contact with one of the more radical and disgruntled rogue houses of the Empire, pledging their loyalty to the house in exchange for their freedom and servitude to the house, taking over the barge and fleeing the scene. The search for the barge issued and the USS Tornado is dragged into the manhunt as well as the Empire hopes to locate and retake the barge.
Whilst examining an Ancient Orion Cruiser within the Hromi Cluster on December the 5th, the USS Southern Cross, under command of Commander Jack Lashmore, encountered a badly damaged Klingon bird-of-prey within a radiation cloud. The vessel contained one survivor, Qen’aq of House Rustazh, who claimed several Houses within the Klingon Empire were going to openly rebel against the High Council and also sabotage or take over several key Battlestations of the empire. Qen’aq had provided what information he could and the Southern Cross crew diligently but carefully and quietly attempted to correlate the information and little evidence with their own contacts. The Klingon High Council replied to Commander Lashmore’s queries that it was an internal Klingon matter and that Qen’aq was to be handed to the next Klingon vessel they encounter to be charged as a criminal.
However, three Klingon Birds-of-Prey decloak and demand the hand over of the so-called criminal Qen'aq, they identify themselves as members of the S.o.K Upon denial of the request based on the fact that Cmdr. Lashmore cannot answer to demands from unrecognized factions, the S.o.K vessels fired on the USS Southern Cross and an assistant Oberth-class science vessel, the USS Jubilee. Although the S.o.K forces were quickly dispersed with the destruction of one of their vessels, the USS Jubilee was destroyed with all 79 crew lost.
On December 15th in 2388, the houses Si’Tac and Q’ras lead a joint and open rebellion against the Klingon Empire. The alliance of houses call themselves the Sovereignty of Kahless and believe in the old ways of conquest, calling the High Council weak and lapdogs for H’urq. All but two of the new Battlestations (Vor’cha and Ty’Gokor) completed recently suddenly only respond to S.o.K loyalist commands and thus key systems within the Empire easily fell to S.o.K forces. Although the Klingon High Council denies it, the Klingon Empire is virtually halved and in open civil war.
A few days later the USS Tornado-C engages the prison barge and all but one of the highly dangerous criminals are captured. The Tornado-C continues its manhunt for the final prisoner. The Tornado-C is running under communications silence per its own safety. Within the Narendra system, almost 300 Starfleet prisoners were executed by their S.o.K captors. The President of the United Federation of Planets publically condemns the actions of the S.o.K as a terrorist faction, due to such and the mounting evidence, the Klingon High Council is forced to accept the situation publically and tensions between the Federation and Klingon Councils lessen.
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